Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.0

Exterminators of the Year 3000 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 5, 2015

The tag line that was featured prominently on advertising copy of Exterminators of the Year 3000 back in the day (as in 1983) wasn’t especially subtle in announcing the progenitor for this fitfully amusing post-apocalyptic jaunt. Meet the new breed of Road Warriors it proudly proclaimed, obviously tipping its dusty hat to the first two outings in the Mad Max Trilogy (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome wouldn’t appear until 1985, two years after Exterminators of the Year 3000’s release). Whether this is an “homage” or simply a “blatant rip off” is probably irrelevant due to the fact that the film is largely a chaotic mess one way or the other, one hobbled by an often incomprehensible script and beyond minimal production values.

In a kind of reverse Waterworld, the future Earth in Exterminators of the Year 3000 is virtually devoid of precious H2O, and a search for a little clear liquid is what sets the plot in motion. “Max” in this film is a character named Alien (Robert Iannucci), a loner (in a muscle car, of course) who ends up forming an unlikely alliance with a little kid named Tommy (Luca Venantini). Bad guys on amped up hogs show up, and the film devolves into a series of noisy chases and explosions. This is a decidedly lo-fi effort to spin a little box office gold out of pure dross, but the film’s often hilarious dubbing and inchoate editing, along with a certain wobbly acting style, may recommend it to certain lovers of kitsch and/or camp.

Exterminators of the Year 3000 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Exterminators of the Year 3000 is presented on Blu-ray by Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. With an understanding of the lo-fi ambience which is inherent to the source elements, this is a decently solid if frankly occasionally problematic and unspectacular looking offering. There are typical age related issues on display in relative abundance, as well as a kind of drab palette which suggests at least minimal (and perhaps a bit more than minimal) fade. Detail is at acceptable but hardly overwhelming levels, even in close-ups. While grain is in evidence and in the darkest sequences can tend to swarm and clump a bit unorganically, there do appear to be signs of denoising here, something that further mitigates levels of detail and fine detail. The film is presented in its original aspect ratio and offers a fairly natural looking presentation, but this is one of those "it's as good as it's probably going to get" situations.

Exterminators of the Year 3000 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Exterminators of the Year 3000 lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track is, like its video analog, dependent upon limitations in the source stems and therefore can perhaps be excused for sounding fairly shallow. The entire film was evidently dubbed, despite the fact that at least some of the actors spoke English, but whoever was in charge of ADR quite possibly was never looking at the screen as the voices were (re)recorded, as synching is virtually nonexistent at times (something that in an odd way adds to this film's deliberately lo-fi charms). Fidelity is adequate if nothing to write home about. Dynamic range is fairly restricted despite the prevalence of car chases and explosions.

Exterminators of the Year 3000 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Boogie Down with The Alien: Interview with Robert Iannucci (1080i; 17:43)


• Trailer (1080p; 3:51)


• TV Spots (1080i; 00:43)


• Audio Commentary by Robert Iannucci

Exterminators of the Year 3000 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Scream Factory has once again rescued an outright obscurity from the ash heap of history, and fans of Exterminators of the Year 3000 should be generally well pleased with the results, albeit with an understanding that the film probably never looked or sounded great to begin with. It's hard to outright "recommend" something of this general shoddiness (not to mention derivativeness), but for those with a certain outré cinematic sensibility, Exterminators of the Year 3000 can be a weird kind of fun.